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Talentbuild offers headhunting service with twist

Kevin Cameron, chief executive officer of Exclusive Search Connections in Wilmington, says his firm's new Talentbuild service helps businesses network with prospective hires before they have a job opening.(Photo: DOUG CURRAN/SPECIAL TO THE NEWS JOURNAL)Buy Photo

It’s easier to find a job when you already have one, the old cliché goes.

The idea is simple: A job-seeker who is not worried about paying the bills tends to be more relaxed and less likely to settle.

That same rule also applies to employers.

Companies that conduct interviews before a position is available can take time to find the right fit, rather than feel pressure to fill a vacancy with a less-than-perfect candidate.

So how does someone that doesn’t need a job find a company that is not actively hiring?

That’s where Kevin Cameron is hoping to come in with Talentbuild, a new service offered by his Wilmington-based executive headhunting firm Exclusive Search Connections.

“Typically, a company hires a firm like mine to do what’s called a retained search, usually because an executive is about to leave or they’ve just created a new position,” he said.

Those types of reactionary searches often means a company has to choose from the best candidates immediately available rather than the ideal candidate with the perfect skill set who also fits within their corporate culture.

Retained searches also can be expensive.

Corporate headhunting firms charge as much as 35 percent of an executive’s total first-year compensation, plus expenses.

Talentbuild, according to Cameron, allows companies to avoid that cost by identifying candidates months before a position becomes available.

For a fraction of a retained search’s price tag, Executive Search Connections will work with a company to identify the personality type and skill sets they need and then set up informal meetings with executives before they are actively looking for work. Each of those potential job candidates agree to sign a nondisclosure agreement to ensure confidentiality, Cameron said.

“This is really for organizations that have a plan for where they want to go and want to get to know the kinds of people who can help them get there,” he said. “But they can do it without the pressure of having an immediate opening that needs to be filled.”

Clients are under no obligation to hire the executives they meet through Talentbuild, although they are charged a fee if they bring one of the firm’s recommendations on board within a year of the introductory meeting.

“If you don’t want to hire the person, the initial fee is all you do,” he said. “You have a Rolodex with exceptional candidates and you move on.”

After landing a new gig as the vice president of business operations at the Maryland-based IT company Astor & Sanders Corp., he signed to have Executive Search Connections’ Talentbuild service help build his future team.

“The results may not be immediate,” he said, “but I know bringing in folks before I have an opening will pay dividends down the road because I’ll already have people I’ve met and can reach out to when something does come up.”

Cameron is hoping Talentbuild’s novel approach to corporate matchmaking also helps his boutique firm stand out in a crowded field of executive search recruiters.

After a 15-year career working for some of the largest recruiters in the county, Cameron struck out on his own in early 2015 with a staff of three.

His company is now one of nearly 7,000 executive search firms competing for a slice of the $7 billion U.S. market.

Both the number of firms and the sector’s overall revenue are expected to grow as falling unemployment and new startups make finding high-quality executives more challenging.

As of last year, the average U.S. worker stayed with one company about 4.6 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s actually better than the 3.7 recorded in 2004 or the 3.5 in 1983, a trend that could make it harder for companies to pull qualified executives away from their current employers when the need arises.

Talentbuild, Cameron said, helps both companies and employees prepare for that eventuality.

“You can’t say with a 100-percent certainty that you’re going to have a job a year from now anymore than an employer can say with any certainty that an employee isn’t going to leave in a year,” he said. “So if you’re not keeping your finger on the people and positions that can help when that moment arrives, you’re not really competing in terms of having the best.”

Contact business reporter Scott Goss at (302) 324-2281, sgoss@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ScottGossDel.